BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE. 261 



invariably, be associated with that of the organism ; and it removes 

 from vain and shallow authors the temptation to hand their names 

 down to posterity " as a reward for confusing the nomenclatm-e. 

 Indeed, so well has the rule worked in Entomology that insects 

 may be, and frequently are, referred to, in conversation, by their 

 specific names only. 



Let us now examine the working of the other rule in the 

 vegetable kingdom. 



The first point to be noticed is that botanists often disagree as 

 to what authority to attach to any given combination. The genus 

 Erodium was founded by I'Heritier on a section of the Linnsean 

 genus Geranium. If we search for the authority for Erodium. 

 woschatum, formerly Geranium moschatum, Linn., we find the fol- 

 lowing remarkable differences of opinion : — 



Erodium moschatum, L'Herit. in Ait. Hort.Kew. (Koch; Nyman, 



Sylloge.) 

 Erodium moschatum, Ait. (Reichenbach). 



Erodium moschatum, L'Herit. (Syme, English Bot. ; Grenier & 



Godron, and most French Floras). 

 Erodium moschatum, Willd. (Bertoloni, Flor. Ital. ; Munby, Cat. 



Plant. Alg.) 

 Erodium moschatum, Smith. (Bab. Man., ed. 7.) 



Here we have at least three different designations of the same 

 plant, in a case where a zoologist would have written Erodium, 

 moschatum, Linn., as a matter of course, and given himself no 

 further trouble.''' It is scarcely necessary to point out how mis- 

 leading this is. '' Erodium moschatum, IjUqyU.,'' " Erodium mos- 

 chatum, WiUd.,'' and " Erodium moschatum, Smith," ought, according 

 to all analogy, to stand for three different plants, and not for three 

 different views of the authority for one. 



A still more serious mischief than the confusion of authorities 

 is the liberty which botanists have accorded to themselves, in 

 moving a well-known plant into a new genus, of changing its 

 specific name, and the frightful multiplication of synonyms of 

 which this has been the cause. According to some of the corre- 

 spondents of this Journal we ought to be grateful, rather than 

 otherwise, for this exercise of the fancy. 



The common Male Fern, Polypodium Eilix-nias of Linnaeus, has 

 been placed in at least eight different genera, and received two 

 s^Decific names besides the first. It is a matter of accident rather 

 than design that this x^bi^nt has not as many specific names as 

 generic, with sixty-four combinations of the two, and a different 

 authority for each combination. 



The nomenclature of Orchids is nearly as bad as that of Ferns. 

 The common Frog Orchis stands in seven genera, but has happily 

 only one specific name. With Neotinea intacta we are not so 

 fortunate : this plant is an admirable instance of the logical 



* On the correct authority for Erodium moschatum see a note at p. 282. — 

 [Ed. Journ. Bot.] 



